from the mayor’s desk - the city of abbeville · things will cause rain water not to flow or...

11
We are now two months into the New Year, and there have been a number of happenings in our city. Our long time po- lice chief, Mike Jones, re- tired at the end of Decem- ber after having served the city and her residents for 40 years. We wish Mike the very best as he adjusts to retirement and giving more time to his family, especially Jean and the grandchildren. Our new police chief, Marlos Walker, took the reins of the department in January, and as he says “getting my feet wet” in his new role. Marlos came to the city from his hometown of Ozark where he worked with the Dale County Sher- iff’s Department. He is now getting out and meet- ing the public so as to learn more about our city and its residents as well as the business sector. Another long term board member, Lester Killebrew, stepped down from service to the city’s water and sewer board after having served for 24 years. Lester’s business interests have ballooned over the years and he felt as though he was now un- able to devote as much time as he should to this board. We will really miss him as he brought a wealth of knowledge to the table when dealing with the busi- ness aspects of this board. He was replaced by Harold Robison who recently retired from the Henry County Water Au- thority. Harold also worked with the city water and sewer department for a number of years before going to the Henry County Water Authority. We wel- come him and his experi- ence to this board and look for a long term service from him as well. Our new and larger Family Dollar is now open for business. I encourage each of you to visit this new store as their shelves are stocked with many items that we previously could not find in our city. This will save you time and money from having to visit Dothan or Eufaula to find items that we all use on a daily basis. From the Mayor’s Desk... selves and show these visi- tors from the other side of the world, our southern hos- pitality”. We realize that any jobs we can land will benefit all of our residents, but also understand that nothing will happen overnight as these manufacturers are very, very cautious in their deci- sions regarding plant ex- pansions in the United States. I will say the ones that have visited our area have been very impressed with rural Alabama, and thanks to Dothan Mayor Mike Schmitz, our area of the state. In closing, I will ask each of you to continue your prayers for our local leaders as we work dili- gently to do whatever we feel necessary to improve the lives of the residents and businesses of Abbe- ville, Headland, Newville, and Haleburg as well as the rest of Henry County. Plans have also been approved for a new Dollar General to be con- structed in the near future at the corner of Kirkland and West Alabama Streets. This will also be a much larger facility with even more goods than those available at its pre- sent location. There are several other retail businesses that are in the planning stages and wanting to locate in Abbeville. I will give you more information on these, if they eventually come to fruition, in our June issue. The Chinese Sym- posium to be held in Dothan on March 26-28 is turning out to be an even larger event than initially planned. I attended a pre- view/update on this in early February. As I told you in the December 2013 issue, the city is partnering with the City of Headland and Henry County to spon- sor a booth at this event. We hope to be able to bring some of the manufacturers from China into our county during this time for them to get a view of what we have to offer. The SoZo Group that is instrumental in putting this program together has ad- vised us to “just be our- Business Name, Alabama | City of Dogwoods | A Quarterly Newsletter | March 2014 Don’t forget to roll your clock’s forward by one hour at 2:00 a.m. on Sunday, March 9th.

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Page 1: From the Mayor’s Desk - The City of Abbeville · things will cause rain water not to flow or drain properly. If you see any clogged drain, please call city hall and report the location

We are now two months into the New Year, and there have been a number of happenings in our city. Our long time po-lice chief, Mike Jones, re-tired at the end of Decem-ber after having served the city and her residents for 40 years. We wish Mike the very best as he adjusts to retirement and giving more time to his family, especially Jean and the grandchildren. Our new police chief, Marlos Walker, took the reins of the department in January, and as he says “getting my feet wet” in his new role. Marlos came to the city from his hometown of Ozark where he worked with the Dale County Sher-iff’s Department. He is now getting out and meet-ing the public so as to learn more about our city and its residents as well as the business sector.

Another long term board member, Lester Killebrew, stepped down from service to the city’s water and sewer board after having served for 24 years. Lester’s business interests have ballooned over the years and he felt as though he was now un-able to devote as much time as he should to this board. We will really miss him as he brought a wealth of knowledge to the table when dealing with the busi-ness aspects of this board.

He was replaced by Harold Robison who recently retired from the Henry County Water Au-thority. Harold also worked with the city water and sewer department for a number of years before going to the Henry County Water Authority. We wel-come him and his experi-ence to this board and look for a long term service from him as well.

Our new and larger Family Dollar is now open for business. I encourage each of you to visit this new store as their shelves are stocked with many items that we previously could not find in our city. This will save you time and money from having to visit Dothan or Eufaula to find items that we all use on a daily basis.

From the Mayor’s Desk...

selves and show these visi-tors from the other side of the world, our southern hos-pitality”.

We realize that any

jobs we can land will benefit all of our residents, but also understand that nothing will happen overnight as these manufacturers are very, very cautious in their deci-sions regarding plant ex-pansions in the United States. I will say the ones that have visited our area have been very impressed with rural Alabama, and thanks to Dothan Mayor Mike Schmitz, our area of the state.

In closing, I will ask

each of you to continue your prayers for our local leaders as we work dili-gently to do whatever we feel necessary to improve the lives of the residents and businesses of Abbe-ville, Headland, Newville, and Haleburg as well as the rest of Henry County.

Plans have also been approved for a new Dollar General to be con-structed in the near future at the corner of Kirkland and West Alabama Streets. This will also be a much larger facility with even more goods than those available at its pre-sent location. There are several other retail businesses that are in the planning stages and wanting to locate in Abbeville. I will give you more information on these, if they eventually come to fruition, in our June issue. The Chinese Sym-posium to be held in Dothan on March 26-28 is turning out to be an even larger event than initially planned. I attended a pre-view/update on this in early February. As I told you in the December 2013 issue, the city is partnering with the City of Headland and Henry County to spon-sor a booth at this event.

We hope to be able to bring some of the manufacturers from China into our county during this time for them to get a view of what we have to offer. The SoZo Group that is instrumental in putting this program together has ad-vised us to “just be our-

Business Name, A labama | City of Dogwoods | A Quarterly Newsletter | March 2014

Don’t forget to roll your clock’s forward by one hour at

2:00 a.m. on Sunday, March 9th.

Page 2: From the Mayor’s Desk - The City of Abbeville · things will cause rain water not to flow or drain properly. If you see any clogged drain, please call city hall and report the location

To the residents of the City of Abbeville Whether leaves or piles of limbs, we ask you to pile them next to the curb, and not to pile them in the road or on top of street drains. Doing either of these two things will cause rain water not to flow or drain properly. If you see any clogged drain, please call city hall and report the location. As some of you may already know, or have heard the city of Abbeville no longer have a flatbed truck. I don't have a time when or if the city will be get-ting another one. So please bear with us as we continue to pick up debris with our knuckle boom truck and our leaf truck. Right now we don't have a set schedule of routes, and we will do our best to pick up your debris in a timely manner. We dump a lot of debris at the county dump, but when it rains we cannot get into the dump because of the roads. We are in the process of patching pot holes that have developed due to the cold weather. If you have any questions, feel free to contact me. My email ad-dress is, [email protected] or call city hall 585-6444 during business hours. Monday through Friday 8:00am to 5:00pm. Thank you Public Works Superintendent Robert E. Wright

Page 2 Sanitation & Streets

Abbeville Water and Sewer Now Offers Online Bill Payment As a way to offer you more choices in how you pay your bills, Abbeville Water and Sewer now lets you pay your bills online. We have partnered with Xpress Bill Pay, the premier provider for online bill payment systems.

All you need is an Internet connection through a Web browser and an e-mail address. Once you sign up for your free account and start using this service, you’ll wonder how you ever got along without it!

It’s simple to use. Every month we’ll send you a reminder e-mail to let you know when your bill is online. Then you just log in to your account at XpressBillPay.com and view your bill. It’s formatted like your paper statement so it will look fa-miliar to you.

You can also see up to a full year’s history of your account online, so you can compare your current bill to a year ago.

When you’re ready to pay your bill, select a payment type. You can pay with credit card, debit card, or electronic funds transfer. Then enter the information and you’re done! It’s that easy, and it only takes you a few minutes each month.

We offered this service at the request of our customers — You asked and we delivered! To sign up, just go to www.cityofabbeville.org and click on the XpressBillPay link at the bottom of the home page and follow the instructions there.

And remember, it’s free to sign up and free to use. Sign up today.

Page 3: From the Mayor’s Desk - The City of Abbeville · things will cause rain water not to flow or drain properly. If you see any clogged drain, please call city hall and report the location

Welcome to the new Family Dollar! Page 3

Abbeville’s new Family Dollar opened recently on Kirkland Street. The grounds have been wonderfully landscaped and buffer fencing has been added to the property. The new store is approximately 8,300 square feet with increased area for frozen foods and grocery items. We would like to welcome our new Family Dollar to Abbeville!

Jo int Abbevi l le/Headland Chamber Luncheon

March 6, 2014 @ Noon Great Southern Conference Center

Abbeville, Alabama

Guest Speaker: Jill Williams—Chinese Symposium

Call 334.585.2273 to make lunch reservations. Lunch—$8.00

Public is invited to attend to learn more about the many opportunities available to help with the Chinese Sympo-

sium and encouraging new business development in Henry County and surrounding area.

LET’S PLAY BALL!! City Youth Baseball and softball registrations are now underway until March 7th. Parents should register kids online on our new website: www.AbbevilleRec.com. Anyone interested in coaching should regis-ter on the same website. This web-site will have all the information that coaches, parents, and players will need throughout the season. If you have any difficulty registering on our website, it may be your spyware, firewall settings, or incompatibility with your computer. The public computers at Abbeville Memorial Library are compatible with our website, and the librarians there will

be happy to help you. SUPPORT OUR YOUTH! This winter has been filled with bad news

and bad weather all over the place. But with spring, comes sunshine and kids playing ball! There is not much that’s better than bleachers filled with family and friends, hot dogs and colas in hand, cheering on their little leaguers and future major leaguers! Everyone is invited to support our city youth at the ball-parks this season. We really need team sponsors this year. If you would like to be a sponsor, call 585-3612 or send an email to [email protected]. Abbeville Animal Control: Spring is on its way. (Thank goodness!) With spring comes changing weather, Easter, spring cleaning, and gardening. All of which can affect our pets. Here are a few things to remember when caring for our pets throughout spring. *Make sure you have adequate shelter for outdoor pets during rainy or stormy weather. Keep Easter candy, especially

chocolate, away from pets! Keep pets away from cleaning

products. Keep fertilizers, pesticides, etc.

sealed and away from pets. *Spring is a good time to have your dog checked for heartworms and make sure your pet’s vaccinations are up to date. If you notice unusual behavior in your pet, such as unusual lethargy, vomiting, diarrhea, foaming at the mouth, or sei-zures…call your veterinarian immedi-ately! Danny Creel,

Parks & Recreation

Page 4: From the Mayor’s Desk - The City of Abbeville · things will cause rain water not to flow or drain properly. If you see any clogged drain, please call city hall and report the location

Page 4

reach the age of 16. Mower Safety Checklist: 1. Do not mow during bad weather, such as a thunderstorm. 2. Do not mow without

enough daylight. 3. Clear the mowing area of any objects. 4. Makes sure all guards, shields, the grass catcher, and any other safety equipment is placed prop-erly on the lawn mower. 5. Never let children ride as passengers on riding mowers.

While Mowing: 1. Wear sturdy closed-toe shoes with slip proof soles, close fitting clothes, safety goggles or glasses with side shields and hearing protection. 2. Watch for things that can be picked up and thrown by the mower blades, as well as hidden dangers. 3. If the mower strikes an object, stop, turn the mower off and inspect the mower. 4. Do not pull the mower backwards or mow in re-verse unless absolutely

With the approach of warm weather comes a return to lawn and garden work. Adults should take precau-tions with attire and wear clothing that protects from pests, sharp equipment and the sun. Gloves are also advisable when work-ing outside with pest sprays and other chemi-cals. Safety goggles, long pants, and a wide brimmed hat are recommended when using a lawn mower. It is recommended that children be at least 12 years of age before they are allowed to operate a walk behind power mower. The AAP recommends that children not operate a rid-ing lawn mower until they

necessary. 5. Use extra caution when mowing on a slope. 6. Let engine cool before refueling. 7. Make sure all children are

inside the house while you are mowing.

8. Always turn the mower

blades off before crossing gravel paths, roads, re-moving grass catcher, unclogging the discharge chute, and walking away from the mower.

Billy Wayne Bedsole Grounds & Beautification Director

Municipal Code Now Online!

After almost 18 months of review and editing, the Abbeville Code of Ordinances

can now be viewed on the city’s website! At the click of your mouse you can access all of the city’s ordi-nances which have been recently been updated and merged with all the many changes that have been made over the last 27 years. The new system can be searched using key words or you can simply drill down through the outline until you find what you are looking for. An-other new addition to the site is the addition of the Alabama State Code link. If you have any question about what the state law is just go to this link and search not only law but legislative bills and whatever is happening in the current session. Both l inks are located at www.cityofabbeville.org under the Government drop down tab.

Safety Precautions in Lawn & Gardening

Juvenile Curfew is in Effect With the coming spring weather and the time clocks moving forward, we will have much more daylight time in the evenings to get out and enjoy the warming weather. We want to remind our resident’s that Abbeville has a curfew law in affect to ensure the safety of our children. The following are the curfew hours: (1) 10:00 p.m. on any Sunday, Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday or Thursday

until 6:00 a.m. of the following day and 12:01 a.m. until 6:00 a.m. on any Friday or Saturday from August 16 through May 31.

(2) 11:00 p.m. on any Sunday, Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday or Thursday until 6:00 a.m. of the following day and 12:01 a.m. until 6:00 a.m. on any Friday or Saturday from June 1 through August 15.

(A) A minor commits an offense if he remains in any public place or on the premises of any establishment within the city during curfew hours.

(b) A parent or guardian of a minor commits an offense if he knowingly permits or by insufficient control allows the minor to remain in any pub-lic place or on the premises of any establishment within the city during curfew hours.

(c) The owner, operator or any employee of an establishment commits an offense if he knowingly allows a minor to remain upon the premises of the establishment during curfew hours.

For more information on this ordinance, please refer to the city website at www.cityofabbeville.org, click on Government tab, then click on Municipal Code. You can search Chapter 40 Section 53 for full details. This ordinance was originally adopted in 2009.

Page 5: From the Mayor’s Desk - The City of Abbeville · things will cause rain water not to flow or drain properly. If you see any clogged drain, please call city hall and report the location

On the Beat! Page 5

I would like to take a moment to say thank to all the members of the Abbeville City Council, Mayor, and City Clerk for the confidence they have shown in allowing me to serve as the Chief of Police. I would especially like to thank all the citizens and com-munity leaders who have welcomed me. My promise to each and every one of you is that I will work tirelessly to serve and protect all citizens. I also promise that the men and women of the Abbe-ville Police Department will strive to provide the highest service possible to the community and its citizens.

Burglary Prevention Tips for Your Spring Vacation!

Do not post about your vacation on Facebook until after you get back.

Make your home look lived in. A light on a timer is a great first step.

Make your home hard to get into. You need good locks.

Don’t leave obvious signs that the house is unoccupied. Stop the mail and paper, or have a neighbor take it in.

Prepare for the worst. If your computer were stolen, what might the consequences be? For most of us, this would be dire indeed. So, back up and password protect. Make a quick run-through around the house with a video re-corder, listing off the valuables. This could save a lot of hassle with the insurance company if you should need to file a claim.

Always ask a neighbor to watch out for suspi-cious activity around your home.

As a municipal police agency, our department is fully committed to our responsibility of identifying, confront-ing, arresting, or disrupting the offenders causing the greatest harm to the people we serve. We are also vigilant in the spectrum of public safety and community leadership as it relates to areas such as preserving the sanctity of the education environ-ment, minimizing traffic injuries, and meeting our home-land security obligations, as well as assisting in situa-tions involving people in personal turmoil. In meeting these and all our obligations, we affirma-tively seek to align our efforts with the mandates and contributions of other service organizations in the com-munity including neighborhood groups, education pro-viders, other government entities, the business commu-nity, faith based and non-profit organizations. I would like to invite any citizen to stop by or call me at the police department if you have any issues or con-cerns. Our department has a serious commitment to fighting crime and reducing the fear of crime to the citi-zens of Abbeville. Again thank you for your support.

Chief Marlos Walker Abbeville Police Department

Abbeville Police Department 101 E. Washington St.

Abbeville, Alabama 36310 334-585-2221 (Office) 334-585-6982 (Fax)

Page 6: From the Mayor’s Desk - The City of Abbeville · things will cause rain water not to flow or drain properly. If you see any clogged drain, please call city hall and report the location

KNOW YOUR EMERGENCY

SIGNALS!

The City of Abbeville will do monthly weather siren testing at 10:00 a.m. on the first Thursday of every month. This test is to ensure that back up power systems and sirens are prop-erly working. In the event there is inclem-ent weather, there will be a silent test. We are making every ef-fort to ensure our emergency systems are in good working order for our resi-dents.

Page 6 Grilled Balsamic Pork Tenderloin

Water Works & Sewer Board Wel-

comes Harold Robison, Jr. December 2013 was the end of a long period of service for Mr. Lester Killebrew who has served the water board since 1990 as a board member. We wish Mr. Killebrew the best of luck as he continues to serve our community. The City Council ap-pointed Mr. Harold Robi-son, Jr. to fill the va-cated position on the board. We look forward to working with Mr. Robison who has re-cently retired from the Henry County Water System and has many of years of knowledge in the operations of a wa-ter system.

Volunteer Opportunities

The Abbeville City Council has openings on two boards . The Zoning Board of Adjustments has two va-cancies. This board consists of five members who serve for three year terms. There are also two supernumerary appointments who attend meetings when one of the regular members cannot attend. There is an opening for a regular member and one supernumerary. Board members meet as need to hear appeals pertaining to zoning issues. The Historic Preservation Commission also has two openings for board mem-bers who serve three year terms. This commission consists of seven members who must be residents of the district. If you would like to serve on either board, please contact Pam Ward at 585.6444.

TIME FOR SPRING BREAK

The Henry County Board of Education and Abbeville Christian Academy have reported the following dates for the 2014 SPRING BREAK;

March 24th through March 28th, 2014

This is a great recipe for the grill or for the oven. Marinate overnight for best flavor. Ingredients: Yield: Serves 6 4-5 garlic cloves, finely minced or crushed 2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar 2 1/2 teaspoons coarse salt 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground pepper 2 tablespoons olive oil 2 pork tenderloins (about 1 1/4 lbs each) 2 tablespoons canola oil (if preparing in the oven) Directions: Stir together garlic, balsamic vinegar, salt, pepper and olive oil in a small bowl. Rub the past all over pork. If you like or have the time, marinate overnight. Grill Preparation: Sear the tenderloins on all sides, then grill for about 15 minutes or until the internal temperature is 160 degrees. Let rest for 5-10 minutes before slicing. Oven preparation: preheat oven to 400 degrees. Heat canola oil in large frying pan. Sear pork on all sides until brown. Transfer pan to oven. Roast pork until internal temperature reaches 160 degrees, about 20 minute. Transfer to cutting board, let rest about 10 minutes before cutting.

Page 7: From the Mayor’s Desk - The City of Abbeville · things will cause rain water not to flow or drain properly. If you see any clogged drain, please call city hall and report the location

Senior Living...News from the Abbeville Senior Center Page 7

The Abbeville Senior Center enjoyed hosting a Meet & Greet for the City of Abbeville’s new Chief of Police February 7, 2014. Many members came to the center to meet Chief Walker and were given an opportunity to ask questions. The members were also delighted to see some council members drop by to visit!

The Abbeville Senior Center will be visiting Henry County Nursing Home and Rehabilita-tion Center each month starting in March of 2014. The members will be singing and danc-ing with the residents. This is a program that we are looking forward to start again. It is such fun to visit with residents and see smiles upon all of their faces! We are pleased to announce “The Friendship Program” starting through the center in Feb-ruary! Members who sign up for this program will be a volunteer to a resident at the Henry County Nursing Home and Rehabilitation Center. Each volunteer will spend at least two hours per month with a particular resident to ensure all residents on the program have a friend to spend quality time with them.

*Dance Classes are starting up again at the Abbeville Senior Center! Members will learn popular dances such as the Electric Slice, Cupid Shuffle, and the Twist!!!! *The Center is also starting our Painting Class for beginners too! All classes taught at the center are free to our members. If you are interested in joining our center, please con-tact Amanda or Barbara at 334-585-5900. Amanda Gamble, Senior Center Director

Abbeville Cemeteries Much care goes into keeping up the City of Abbeville’s cemeteries. Please help us by driving only on the driveways when visiting the cemetery. The City of Abbeville Code of Ordinances Section 14-39 Driving on driveways. states “No person other than construction workers and caretakers in the course of authorized work as necessary shall drive or use vehicles of any kind or description in the Abbeville Memorial Cemetery, except by, through, and along the duly and legally consti-tuted driveways in the cemetery.” You may go to the City of Abbeville website and find additional information about our cemeteries in the Code of Ordi-nance, Section 14, Cemeteries. If you have any questions you may contact City Hall at (334) 585-6444.

Page 8: From the Mayor’s Desk - The City of Abbeville · things will cause rain water not to flow or drain properly. If you see any clogged drain, please call city hall and report the location

Beyond the Shelves Page 8

Abbeville Memorial Library Hosts Book Signing On Saturday, February 8, at 11 a.m., the Abbeville Memorial Library had a Book Signing with Author, Dr. Kotina Williams Hall, a native of Abbeville! 106 people attended this event. Patches is Dr. Hall's first re-lease from her series of children's books - inspired by her daughter, Jekoti-Blake Hall. Kotina is the daughter of Earnest (James) and Sallie Williams of Abbeville and a 1990 Graduate of Abbeville High School. She lives in Atlanta with her husband, Jeffrey and is the mother to one daughter, Jekoti-Blake. Two copies of Patches are available for checkout at the library. To order a copy of Dr. Hall’s book, go to www.patchesadventures.com. Other Winter Happenings at the Library:

Many people come into the library to do genealogy research and find that they can go much deeper in their search using the Library Edition of Ancestry.com. Instead of paying for a personal subscription to Ancestry.Com, you can use the library edition for free!

The library bought a one year subscription last year with grant funds, but needed funds to continue the subscription another year. We are so thankful to the Yatta Abba Committee and our Friends of the Library for their combined donation of $1,080.00 which allows us to continue to offer free use of Ancestry.com to every-one that visits the library.

Page 9: From the Mayor’s Desk - The City of Abbeville · things will cause rain water not to flow or drain properly. If you see any clogged drain, please call city hall and report the location

Page 9 Continued from Page 8

Jamie Johnson, Yatta Abba Chairperson Local elementary classes took a short trip Debbie McLain, Library Director to the library to see Santa before Christmas. Sarah Williams, Friends of the Library President

Elementary students from Abbeville Elementary and Abbeville Christian Academy came to the li-brary on December 16th to hear Mrs. Santa read a Christmas story, to sing with one of Santa’s elves, and to have one last chat with Santa before he made his final list check for Christmas!

Usually December is one of our slowest months of the year…even with a Santa visit. This year, De-

cember was definitely not a slow month! It was a record breaking attendance month with 3,035 visits! Wow! The Library has come a long way over the years.

Since taking the Library Director’s position in June of 2010, I have seen the library move from 3 pro-grams in 2010 (91 people attended) to 25 programs in 2013 (1,420 people attended)! Our total number of library visits in 2010 equaled 18, 658. In 2013, we had 25,507 visits! We have more programs and more people visiting the library than ever before…and that’s great! There is one thing that hasn’t changed, and we could use your help with this. We have had the same number of library ladies working the library for over 10 years. We could really use some volunteers to help with our library programs. We could use extra hands with our children’s programs, or presenters and instructors to help start new programs. If you are not an active member of our Friends of the Library, I hope you will consider becoming one. You don’t have to be a Friends of the Library member to volunteer, but there are a few perks that come with the membership. For more information about volunteering, call the library. For more information about joining the Friends of the Library, go to www.abbevillelibrary.org and click on the “Friends of the Library” tab.

More events and programs are on the way! Stop by the library or check out our website for more in-

formation about upcoming classes and our “Reading is the Ticket” program starting in March.

Debbie McLain Library Director

Page 10: From the Mayor’s Desk - The City of Abbeville · things will cause rain water not to flow or drain properly. If you see any clogged drain, please call city hall and report the location

On Tap—Water Works & Sewer System of Abbeville Page 10

Employee of the Quarter— Nella Gilmore

We are pleased to announce that Nella Gilmore has been chosen as the Employee of the Quarter. Nella has worked as Custodian for the City of Abbeville since 2006. She rotates her time between City Hall, Po-lice Department, Police Annex, Water Plant, Library and the Shop. So as you can see, she is a busy lady. Nella has a gift for making things sparkle. She also has a green thumb with the plants. They thrive with her attention. We appreciate all that Nella does to keep our work areas clean and healthy. In her spare time she enjoys spending time with her family, espe-

cially her grandchildren. And when the weather gets nice she will be “gone fishing”. Congratulations Nella. You deserve this honor.

The Abbeville Water Department has been very busy over the past few months. The extreme cold and ice played havoc with the water system as well as with many of our customers with busted pipes. We worked closely with our customers to assist in cutting off and on the water while home repairs were made. The sewer main on Phillips Street has been replaced after problems caused by tree roots and bad connections. This was made possible a Community Development Block grant we received. Paving Girard St. and demolishing several dilapi-dated buildings were also part of this grant. The sewer piers and pipe on Ozark Rd are now being replaced. They have been in place for over 40 years. If you are traveling in this area, please be cautious of our workers and machinery. Our department is constantly working hard at our treatment plant. Regular work in done to drain, dry, and remove sludge from our holding cells, so we can inspect the piping in the bottom of the pond, as well as providing more space for in-coming sludge. We have had several leaks that we have repaired and storm drains that have been cleaned out. We are continuously working to keep our men trained on all aspects of Alabama Water Certification. Statements for water, sewer, and garbage collection are generated at the end of each month and mailed to each cus-tomer. Each customer should have received the current bill no later than the 3rd of each month. The customer has until the 25th of the month to pay the bill without being charged a late fee. After the 25th, a penalty is added to the current amount due. If the balance is not paid by the 10th of the following month the customer will be locked off and charge a $50.00 reconnect fee. If the customer is locked off twice within a 12 month period the water board requires that customer to have a high risk deposit on file of $150.00 until the account is closed.

We are always busy doing our best to make our water safe for the citizens of Abbeville. If you should ever notice a water problem, please contact me at 334-585-6444. I will do all I can to insure that things are running smoothly with our depart-ment. Mike Johnson Superintendent

Page 11: From the Mayor’s Desk - The City of Abbeville · things will cause rain water not to flow or drain properly. If you see any clogged drain, please call city hall and report the location

City of Abbeville 101 E. Washington St. P O Box 427 Abbeville AL 36310

Phone: 334.585.6444 Fax: 334.585.6982

Community Calendar City Council Meetings are held the 1st and 3rd Monday of each month at

6:00 p.m. in City Hall. Please join us and become an active participant in how your city government operates. To be on the agenda, contact the City Clerk no later than the Wednesday prior to the meeting at 585.6444.

The Abbeville Chamber of Commerce meets the first Thursday of each month at the Great Southern Conference Center on Kirkland Street at noon. Please contact the Chamber at 585.2273 for your lunch reservation.

Abbeville Historic Preservation Commission meets quarterly (January, April, July & October) on the second Thursday at 5:30 p.m. at City Hall.

The Water Works and Sewer Board of Abbeville meets the fourth Monday at 5:00 p.m. in City Hall.

Planning Commission meets the fourth Thursday of each month in City Hall at 6:00 p.m.

Chamber of Council meets the first Thursday of each month except in July. Contact the Chamber to make reservations for lunch. Please help us maintain and build our great business community. Joint Abbeville/Headland Chamber Luncheon—March 4, 2014. Please call for reservations at 585.2273.

April 26, 2014—Miss Abbeville Pageant. Watch the city website under the community tab for registra-tion.

May 9, 2014 Yatta Abba Sock Hop at the Ward-Herndon Gym

May 10, 2014—Yatta Abba Day Festival—Downtown Abbeville

May 26, 2014—Memorial Day Holiday—Monday garbage route will be picked up on Tuesday.

Oct. 20, 2014—Last day to register for the Howl-O-Ween Scarecrow Contest @ chamber office.

Oct. 31, 2014—Howl-O-Ween

Dec. 4, 2014—Christmas Tree Light, Walk About and Cookies with Santa starting at 6:00 p.m. at the Courthouse

Dec. 8, 2014—Abbeville Christmas Parade

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Increasing Our Knowledge… Our Mayor, City Council and employees are constantly working toward improving their skills which enables them to perform their jobs more efficiently, safely and professionally. The following is a list of education and practical training they have completed over the last few months: Debbie McLean, Amanda Gamble, Danny Creel, Billy Helms, Betty Yoder, Mayor Jim Giganti, Pam Ward, Vicki Bedsole, Billy

Wayne Bedsole, and Terry Allums have all completed required FEMA National Incident Management Training Courses David Dozier and Dawn Jones completed USER/TAX/AISP meeting Jimmy Carruthers, Mike Jones, and Brandon Helms have completed the 5th Annual Wiregrass Law Enforcement Seminar April Barfield has completed NCIC re-certification training Danny Creel completed the Animal Control Training and is a certified by the Taser Training Academy Police Chief Marlos Walker was appointed to the Henry County E-911 Board.

We are on the web at www.cityofabbeville.org

Documents

News & Events Newsletter

Contact Information Community Calendar